Some players, such as Michigan State's Jerel Worthy, always hear the same thing: "His motor runs hot and cold."

This seems short sighted. Worthy was the playmaker on that defense (only one other player drafted, not until round 6 or 7). When he wasn't making impact plays, chances are the entire unit wasn't playing well. So it all rested on Worthy.

Now, let's plug Jerel Worthy into Alabama. His level of play is just the same. But now, if he's not making plays, somebody else is. Upshaw, Barron, Hightower and Kirkpatrick are all making an impact. Fans, media and scouts don't peg the blame on anybody (because there is no blame to peg), and nobody says that Alabama DT Jerel Worthy's motor runs hot and cold.

Worthy was the playmaker on that defense (only one other player drafted, not until round 6 or 7). When he wasn't making impact plays, chances are the entire unit wasn't playing well. So it all rested on Worthy.

As Michigan State is one of my favourite schools to watch, I feel the need to point out that I see CB Johnny Adams, who stayed in school, as Worthy's equal - or more - in regards of being the most dominant player on the Spartan defense. Adams and Trenton Robinson did really show up last year in the secondary.

It does not suffice to only check the prospects that came out in this years draft in my opinion.

With that said, I agree with your post and point about Worthy's motor.

300 pound human beings are not intended to go full speed for roughly half of an entire football game. NFL teams realize this, and rotate their big bodies on the defense, even when it involves taking out their best players (one of the reasons Detroit took Fairley in 2010 was to lessen the dropoff when Suh was on the bench, say.)

College coaches, on the other hand, don't really care. They only have these guys for four years, and they'll put their best players on the field as often as they need them in order to win games, even when it results in the big guys sucking wind and playing well below their potential.

So when you're evaluating "motor issues" for DL you have to draw a distinction between "he took plays off because he was playing 95% of the defensive snaps, and no enormous human being can do that without getting more than a little tired" or "he took plays off because he's lazy and doesn't care." I fear a lot of the people who do analysis for fans have trouble drawing that distinction.

The former problem is correctable with good coaching and NFL S&C programs, the latter may not be.

Nick Perry is a high motor player who appears to "go cold" at times, because he doesn't know how to use his hands to disengage and he lacks counter moves (these are things that can be coached up at the next level). In the five games that I studied, he certainly played until the whistle, and he continued to chase after the football even when he was effectively out of the play. But like I said, he would have quiet streaks for reasons that didn't involve his hustle/motor.

This ties in with PossibleCabbage's broader point about analysts not being able to distinguish between "motor issues" and other issues. I can't remember a good DL who wasn't questioned for his motor by somebody or another. Even Suh had people who said that he takes plays off.

300 pound human beings are not intended to go full speed for roughly half of an entire football game. NFL teams realize this, and rotate their big bodies on the defense, even when it involves taking out their best players (one of the reasons Detroit took Fairley in 2010 was to lessen the dropoff when Suh was on the bench, say.)

College coaches, on the other hand, don't really care. They only have these guys for four years, and they'll put their best players on the field as often as they need them in order to win games, even when it results in the big guys sucking wind.

So when you're evaluating "motor issues" for DL you have to draw a distinction between "he took plays off because he was playing 95% of the defensive snaps, and no enormous human being can do that without sucking wind" or "he took plays off because he's lazy and doesn't care." I fear a lot of the people who do analysis for fans have trouble drawing that distinction.

The former problem is correctable with good coaching and NFL S&C programs, the latter may not be.

I just disagree with your general premise. Michigan State has plenty of talent on defense and should be among the top ten in the country this fall. Most of the talent is returning, and my guess is you'l see guys like William Gholston, Johnny Adams and Denicos Allen all emerge as top 100 picks in future drafts.

Scouting is about the individual prospect. Effort is something that will show up on tape. Also having a lack of, in this case, pass rush moves or run gap control will also make a player "run hot and cold" or "disappear" for stretches.

But nice attempt.

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